Sura al-Ghashiya

Priority: b, Quality: b
From wikishia
Sura al-Ghashiya
al-A'la
Sura Number88
Juz'30
Revelation
Revelation Number68
Makki/MadaniMakki
Information
Verse Count26
Word Count92
Letter Count382\


This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Ghashiya; to read its text see text:Sura al-Ghashiya.

Sūra al-Ghāshīya (Arabic: سورة الغاشية) is eighty eighth sura of the Qur'an. It is Makki and located in thirtieth juz' of the Qur'an. "Ghashiya" means "to envelop" and it is one of the names of the Day of Judgement.

This sura speaks about the states and fate of deniers and also happiness and salvation of believers and calls human beings to reflect upon the wonders of creation. About the merits of this sura, it is narrated from the Prophet (s) that if someone recites Sura al-Ghashiya, God will take it easy on him upon reckoning.


Introduction

  • Naming

This sura is called al-Ghashiya because at the beginning of the sura, it speaks about al-Ghashiya[1] (the enveloper). "Ghashiya" means "to envelope" and it is one of the names of the Day of Judgement. The Day of Judgement is called so because it envelops and surrounds everyone with its dreadful events.[2]

  • Place and Order of Revelation

Sura al-Ghashiyah is among Makki suras. It is eighty eighth sura revealed to the Prophet (s) and also eighty eighth sura in the compilation of the Qur'an,[3] located in Juz' thirty.

  • Number of Verses and Other Features

Sura al-Ghashiya has twenty six verses, ninety two words and 382 letters and is among Mufassalat suras[4] (having several short verses).

Content

This sura begins with a description of paradise and its blessings and punishments of the hell. Then, it speaks of the Unity of God. In these verses, God tells human being to observe the wonders of creation such as the wonderful creation of camel, the sky, mountains and the earth. Secrets and wonders of these creatures guides human being toward his Creator. It then speaks about the prophethood of the Prophet (s) and at the end warns disbelievers about the punishment of God. In this sura, the states and fate of deniers and also happiness and salvation of believers are spoken about.[5]

Content of Sura al-Ghashiya[6]
Comprehensiveness of Divine Punishment and Reward
First topic: verses 1-16
Comprehensive punishment and reward in the hereafter
Second topic: verses 17-20
Signs of the All-Inclusive Lordship of God
Third topic: verses 21-26
Certainty of the punishment of deniers of God's Lordship
First point: verses 1-7
Comprehensive punishment of disbelievers in the hell
First point: verses 21-24
Certainty of the punishment of disbelievers who do not care about the warnings of the Prophet (a).
Second point: verses 8-16
Comprehensive reward of believers in the paradise
Second point: verse 25-26
Certainty of human's return to God

Ghashiya in Hadiths

One of the meanings of "Ghashiya" is "to envelop" and according to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the meaning of the verse, "Did you receive the account of the Enveloper?" is that after the uprising of Imam al-Mahdi (a), Imam (a) surrounds them (enemies) with sword.[7]

According to another hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the verse "Did you receive the account of the Enveloper?" refers to those hypocrites who gather around Imam (a) and neither he (a) benefits from their companionship, nor does he (a) make them needless.[8]

Merits and Benefits

About the merits of this sura, it is narrated from the Prophet (s) that if someone, recites Sura al-Ghashiya, God will take it easy on him upon reckoning.[9] Also, it is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) that everyone recites Sura al-Ghashiya in his obligatory and recommended prayers frequently, God will envelop him by His mercy in this world and the hereafter and in the hereafter will keep him safe from the painful punishment of the fire.[10]

In some narrations, recitation of Sura al-Ghashiya has been recommended for alleviation of pains,[11] harms of food and health of a baby upon its birth.[12]

Special Recitations

Recitation of Sura al-Ghashiya has been strongly recommended in the second rak'a of morning prayer on Mondays, Thursdays and also in the prayer of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.[13]

External Links

Notes

  1. Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāmah-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī, vol. 2, p. 1263.
  2. Makārim Shīrāzī, Barguzīda-yi tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 5, p. 484.
  3. Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 166.
  4. Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāmah-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī, vol. 2, p. 1263.
  5. Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāmah-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī, vol. 2, p. 1263.
  6. Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
  7. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 50.
  8. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 50.
  9. Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 333.
  10. Ṣadūq, Thawāb al-aʿmāl, p. 122.
  11. Baḥrānī, al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 5, p. 641.
  12. Kafʿamī, al-Miṣbāḥ, p. 460.
  13. Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 6, p. 117-118.

References

  • Baḥrānī, Sayyid Hāshim. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1416 AH.
  • Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1414 AH.
  • Khurramshāhī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn. Dānishnāmah-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī. Tehran: Dūstān wa Nāhīd, 1377 Sh.
  • Kafʿamī, Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Miṣbāḥ. Qom: Muḥibbīn, 1423 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. 4th edition. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1407 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Barguzīda-yi tafsīr-i nimūna. Edited by Aḥmad ʿAlī Bābāyī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1382 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Thawāb al-aʿmāl wa ʿiqāb al-aʿmāl. Edited by Ṣādiq Ḥasanzāda. Tehran: Armaghān-i Ṭūbā, 1382 Sh.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 1st edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1995.